Mapping Your Terrain
Your fascia and your story can help you problem-solve your pain.
Sometimes my body reminds me of a Jenga tower that has been stacked too high. If you have never played the game before, you start with a tower of pre-arranged blocks, then remove them one by one and restack them on top. The tower gets taller and more unstable as the game progresses.
You will know immediately if you have chosen a block that is structurally supporting the tower. Pulling on it causes the whole thing to wobble. Instead, you will want to choose a block that comes out easily in order to avoid toppling the tower and losing the game.
Over the years, my body has been playing a similarly delicate game, trying to function while my structure becomes more and more unstable. Thankfully, my fascia has been holding my wobbling tower together.
Problem-Solving Pain
In places where my muscles are too weak, my fascia has taken over supporting my structure. I call it “structural fascia.” Unlike the small load-bearing Jenga blocks, I can’t force it to move. Fascia release techniques don’t affect it. I can’t sense it to do any energy work. To do any of this would sabotage my stability.
Instead, my structural fascia is just biding its time, waiting for me to finish playing the game in reverse, putting the other blocks back in their proper places (so to speak) until I feel stable enough that it is willing to let go.
As I strengthen my muscles and clear out trauma, my structure is shifting. This seems to support my belief that tight fascia in and of itself is not the root cause of my problem. Rather, stored trauma and muscle weakness are the main causes of my pain and fascial adhesions.
But it is a back and forth game. Sometimes tight fascia prevents me from using certain muscles. So I have to ask myself—is this fascial adhesion here because it is protecting me structurally (does it feel dense and unyielding)? Or will energy work, compression, or some other tool help me resolve the issue and allow my muscle freedom to function so my fascia can let go?
For example:
If the issue is trauma, energy work can help.
If the issue is a learned behavior, like fight or flight or freeze, conscious action can help.
If the issue is lack of proprioception, compression can help.
To find out what it is, sometimes I just have to try a tool and see if I get results, like:
I ping my subconscious for any sense of stuck energy. If I get a response, I do energy work. (This sounds like radar. I’ll explain more in my upcoming Energy Work - Part 2.)
I try to notice un-serving behaviors and take action to address them. For example, if I’m triggered into a flight reaction because I’m overwhelmed, I may take a short break and come back to the problem or look at it one piece at a time. Rather than reacting with complete avoidance, I let myself feel the overwhelm before deciding what to do about it. Addressing the feeling right away rather than running from it helps to avoid it becoming stored as trauma.
When I have physical discomfort I get up and move my body. If I notice my blood is not circulating well in an area, I go stand against a shelf or towel rack or knob and compress that area. If I find it receptive (if the fascia yields, even if painful) I spend more time on it.
These and other tools release tension, bring a return of sensation, and prevent further trauma.
Even though my structural fascia is not ready to budge right now, there are helpful messages to be found by studying it.
Mapping as a Tool
In a prior post, I mentioned taking a group mentorship to learn more about fascia. Elisha Celeste taught us about an essential tool for assessing fascia and finding clues to problem-solve pain. She calls it mapping.
The density, texture, and reactivity of fascia as well as the location of fascial adhesions are clues that can provide insight about causes of pain and discomfort in the body.
These clues form the “map” from which you can hypothesize what the body needs. This video briefly explains mapping, but I recommend checking the Kinetix Academy or Elisha’s website for updates on live communications and classes.
I’ve been mapping myself, and I’m noticing a pattern. My fascia is generally adhesed along the lateral parts of my body. My kneecaps are being pulled outward. My quads are adhesed to my IT bands. My ribs and lats are tight and my scapulae wing outward. Even my neck has lateral adhesions.
There are two ways that I’m interpreting this map. Both feel true. One is that I’m divided against myself, and have been for years. Body vs spirit, rational vs emotional, discipline vs spontaneity—these are just some of the wars I fight internally. This metaphor has manifested physically for me. My body has two divided pillars and I’m no longer in harmony myself.
The other insight that I have is a lack of self-support, not just physical but emotional. Central sets of muscles have frozen and are diminishing. This leaves vital areas of my body (like my neck, spine, core, and pelvis) with a lack of proper support. This lack of self-support has manifested in so many ways, from avoiding pain to people-pleasing to self-loathing.
But I’m experiencing an inward shift. With all the work I’ve been doing over the years, I’m noticing small changes that make me hopeful. My balance has improved a lot. The adhesions under my arms are loosening, allowing more function. I’m getting the tingle of nerves reawakening in my hands. And even before any physical signs manifested, I was already learning to listen to myself, love myself, and stand up for myself.
Creating Your Own Map
My body’s fascia is an extreme example, but everyone’s fascia contains clues. When you compress your muscles, what do you notice about your fascia?
Density: thick/hard, thin/supple?
Textures: dense, ropy, stringy, crunchy, sticky, clunky?
Reactivity: flinching, laughing, crying, shock, numbness (no reactivity)?
Location: upper/lower, left/right, lateral/median, anterior/posterior, dominant side?
You may want to draw a sketch as I have done. What are you seeing visually?
To add to this map, consider your daily habits, life history, and recent events. Consider your hobbies, relationships, and environment. Do these clues match up to some of what your fascia is telling you?
For example, maybe you have a habit of scrunching your head sideways to hold your phone while you do other things. Or maybe your hold a crying toddler on the same hip all the time.
What if your painful gut issues are a sign you should listen to your gut more? Or could they be pointing toward deep-seated anxiety?
Are your favorite activities becoming too painful? Maybe you have a habit of ignoring (escaping) your body until it gets your attention through pain?
Everyone’s body has a story to tell. It will give you clues that can better your quality of life. What patterns are you noticing, physically or in other areas? What does your map say? What tools can help you change un-serving patterns?
I hope you take note and take action. Now is better than later. Your future self will thank you.
With love,
Ordinary Girl